


like atonement for a bygone sin

by sapphfics



Category: Barbie - All Media Types, Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus (2005), Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (2006)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Femslash, Implied/Referenced Sex, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22091449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphfics/pseuds/sapphfics
Summary: After Rowena is gone, her father stops all visitors to their palace for quite some time.Or: In which a visit from the Prodigal Princess Brietta allows Blair to explore feelings she hasn’t let herself.
Relationships: Blair (Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses)/Brietta (Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	like atonement for a bygone sin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SpiltSoup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiltSoup/gifts), [SkyRose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyRose/gifts).



> for the two authors who have written for this pairing beautifully - go read the stories - i hope i did them justice!! <3333333

After Rowena is gone, her father stops all visitors to their palace for quite some time. 

He doesn’t ask for his daughter’s opinions on the matter, nor does he voice it, his will is simply done without question. It doesn’t make sense to Blair; Rowena was his cousin, not a peasant who broke in, surely farmers with grievances are not the problem? But she does not voice this because she is not the heir to the throne, and therefore should probably not be paying attention to such matters, let alone have opinions.

Normally, she is not afraid to voice her opinions. She isn’t scared of her father or anyone ever again, but she understands where he’s coming from and she is tired, too. She watches the guards close the gates, picks a few of the new guards herself, and tries to remember to lock her bedroom door at night.

They all sleep in separate rooms now, except for the twins and triplets. Rowena wanted them all in the same room so they would be easier to control but the palace has so much space that it never made sense to any of them. But Blair isn’t used to falling asleep without hearing Ashlynn snoring or having to pry Courtney’s book out of her sleeping clenched hands. It’s quiet all night now. 

Too quiet. 

Her father may have banned others from coming in, but that doesn’t mean Blair can’t go out. All of the sisters had little ways of escaping their confinement around Rowena; secret passages and hidden rooms and sometimes only dreams. It’s the same for Blair, but her reprieve lay in the stables with her horse. She knows her father loves her, loves them all, but if she has to spend one more second in that place she is going to scream loud enough for the whole kingdom to hear. Besides, Ashlynn is the heir and she is one of eleven spares, so she doubts anyone will care nearly as much if she goes out riding and does not come back for a few days. 

Blair has always had a touch of familiarity amongst the commoners of her kingdom that her sisters seem to lack. Most of them rarely leave the castle these days, content to spend eternity with one another, but Blair has been riding horses all her life. It helps that she has a reputation for paying good tips to the stable hands who help her. The people of the kingdom like her, feel as if they know her. Many had offered her condolences when her father was at death’s door, and a few had offered to smuggle them out of the kingdom all together. She’s known the particular stable hand she is meeting tonight since she was a girl. He was even her first kiss, awkward and sweet at age fifteen. It never went anywhere, though. 

“There is a rumour going around,” The stable hand whispers, a hand over his mouth.

“Oh really?” Blair says, raising an eyebrow. “I hope it isn’t about me or my family.”

“I have a friend who was frozen in that terrible attack on Aeluin,” He continues. “And he told me that Princess Brietta is alive. She finally came home to her parents and her little sister!”

“Oh wow!” Blair replies, her eyes going wide. Everyone knows the tragic tale of Princess Brietta but she is glad this at least has a happy ending. “She isn’t dead then, that’s such a relief. And human again, is she?”

“Yeah, thanks to Princess Annika and her fiancé. And she’s still just as beautiful.” The boy stumbles on his words, almost dropping the reins as he seems to remember who he’s talking to. “Or, at least, that’s what I’ve heard. Not more so than you, Princess.”

“Lord, don’t put me against another beautiful Princess, good sir,” Blair replies. “Thank you for telling me, though. I’ll be sure to inform my father.” 

As Blair rides back to the palace with a flask of whiskey in her satchel and a flower in her hair, she cannot get the image of Princess Brietta out of her mind. 

-:-

In truth, Blair does have a slight ulterior motive in telling her father about Princess Brietta. She will admit that. 

Part of it is the stifling existence of not having seen anyone outside her own kingdom for months, the other part of her wants to get to know the formerly lost Princess better. 

“We shall invite her over at once!” Her father announces. 

“Really?” Blair says happily.

“A girl like that could use some friends and a good meal.” Her father reasons, then he slouches in his throne and stares at his hands. “I knew her parents when I was a boy, you know? We went to social functions together. They were the ones who convinced me to ask your mother to dance. I was a small and sickly boy even then and I thought she would laugh in my face, but she didn’t.”

Blair has heard the story a thousand times, but she never imagined the royal family who fled from a vicious warlock in their later years were involved somehow. It gives her comfort to know that they survived that. 

The worst thing magic ever did for her was trap her in paradise. She is grateful for that at least. 

“Father,” Blair says, before she shuts the throne room door behind her. “I miss her, too.” 

-:-

Blair practically skips around the palace the morning of Princess Brietta’s arrival. She is coming alone, her sister and brother-in-law away on their honeymoon, but Blair doesn’t mind. 

“Hello!” She says and grabs Brietta’s hands instantly. “You are so pretty! Now please, you have to tell me about the horses and stables at Cloud Kingdom!” 

“Welcome to our kingdom, Princess Brietta,” Her father says from behind her. “I apologise for Blair, she’s not known for her quietness. I hope we didn’t offend you.”

“Papa—“ 

“No need to apologise, King Randalf, I find it charming coming from such a beautiful girl as her,” Brietta replies with a small smile. “The question I am most frequently asked is if I still have a tail. This is much more preferable. Cloud Kingdom was my home for twenty years, I’m more than happy to speak of it.” 

“Brilliant!” Blair replies. “Come, come, please, I’ll show you the gardens and the stables!” 

“But what about your other sisters?” Her father calls after them. 

“I’ll meet them at dinner,” Brietta calls back.

Once they are out of earshot of the king, Brietta starts giggling. 

-:-

Given her recent experiences, Brietta doesn’t like to ride horses anymore, so Blair lets her sit on the back of her saddle. Brietta leans into her. 

It isn’t until they are deep in the woods and her horse is drinking from a nearby stream that Blair feels free to speak again. 

“What is it?” Blair asks. “What was so funny?”

“Nothing, really - just, I missed this,” Brietta says. “You miss a lot of things being transformed into a winged horse against your will. I’ll be glad if I never see another carrot in all my life. I missed a lot of things, my parents, my little sister, my body. Running around with girls who are too pretty for my own good.”

Blair turns away and lets her hair frame her face in hopes that Brietta won’t see her blushing. 

“You think I’m pretty?” Blair scoffs. “Look in the mirror, please. You’re gorgeous, I could eat you up.”

“I used to,” Brietta says. “The Cloud Queen enchanted one of the mirrors to remind of what I had, and now I have my body back again.” 

“And what do you intend to do, now you’re back? Marry a husband, start a family?” Blair is intrigued. 

“Gods, no. I would quite like to kiss you, Blair.” Brietta replies. She is staring at her hands like she can’t believe they are real. “I’m sorry, Princess, I shouldn’t be propositioning you I don’t even know if you’re—“ 

“Please, stop with the formalities,” Blair says and kisses her. 

It’s a good thing there is solid ground beneath them instead of fragile clouds. 

-:- 

Blair and Brietta arrive home late, but Blair still has to change for dinner. 

Courtney and Ashlynn corner her at her bedroom door. 

“You look very happy,” Ashlynn says slyly. “What happened? Father says you ran off with the visiting Princess.”

“So,” Blair sighs. “I—uh, I may have slept with Princess Brietta. Just now.” 

“I knew it!” Courtney yells, looking up from her book to give Ashlynn a high five. 

“You aren’t...surprised?”

“Well, Blair, you always loved horses more than people,” says Ashlynn. “Admittedly, I would’ve thought you would simply add a w and remove the s, but this is a far better outcome. It’s not like I didn’t know you were listening in on me telling Courtney all the things I’d let Princess Anneliese do to me.”

“How did you know, Courtney?” 

Courtney shrugs. “You still have leaves in your hair.” 

Blair runs a hand through her hair and Courtney laughs. 

-:- 

During dinner, Brietta passes her a note underneath the table. 

I would love to see you again tonight. Meet me in the gardens at midnight? 

Blair can hear Brietta happily chattering away with her father, something about the ludicracy of trade deals, but she can notice Brietta catch her eye. 

Blair nods and grins. She can feel as if magic is returning to the castle in some small way. The sparkle in Brietta’s bright eyes proves as much. 

Maybe magic has trapped her in paradise once again.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed this!!!
> 
> come talk to me on [tumblr](https://sapphfics.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/sapphfics) if you feel so inclined! let’s be friends <333


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